Good Day
by Mystrothedefender
Summary: After Nitori's first day with Rin's group of friends he cannot believe how accepted he feels and doesn't know how to express it.
1. Chapter 1

**This is my first time writing Free! so I am sorry if it's a little worse than my usual.**

The group of boys came to a stop at the point in the road where they separated, where Nitori and Rin would break away from the other 4 and head to their dorm.

It was getting late and unusually cold for this time of year, Nitori could tell Rin was itching to go back in the warm but he stopped to discuss their plans for the next day regardless.

"What time is the film?" the taller boy asked, taking a step down the opposing road, away from the group.

Makoto hummed for a second as he remembered what he'd read on his phone a few hours before, "10:40, tomorrow morning, and then we'll go to the pool for practice after that."

Nitori swallowed hard, deciding now to voice himself, "I don't know if I can make the film, I might not be able to afford it."

He felt himself shrink as 5 sets of eyes fell on him, he should have said something sooner, it was only a film but he still felt like he was letting them down by not being able to go.

Rei huffed slightly, "We won't go then, we can find something else to do."

Nitori dipped his head slightly, hiding a smile, he had expect them to leave him out, not change their plans.

"No don't be silly," Nagisa chimed, pulling Nitori by his arm into a slight hug, "I'll pay for you Nitori."

Nitori lifted his head, frowning slightly, "No, I can't let you-"

Nagisa giggled, putting a finger to his lips and making a shushing noise, "Don't worry, let me pay for you. I won't let you miss this, I will hate it if you do, what if you see spoilers?"

Nitori let a smile fill his face, "Ok," he moaned slightly, "Ok, I'll let you."

Makoto spoke over them, the discomfort of the cold becoming obvious to all of them now. "We'll meet here at 10 tomorrow morning, ok? And then walk over."

There was a collective nod and noises of agreement between them, Makoto looked amongst them and nodded, "Ok, well, we'll see you guys tomorrow then," he gave Rin and Nitori a nod of goodbye and he and the others started to walk off.

Nitori watched them for a bit before looking toward where Rin had been only a few seconds ago, he jolted with the realisation that the taller boy had walked off already. He jogged for a moment to catch up with him, "Senpai wait," he called gently as he came to Rin's side.

"Hm?" Rin half grunted, turning his head towards him, "What?"

"You almost left me, that's all, sorry Senpai…" Nitori replied, still smiling from the exchange earlier.

"Ah," Rin nodded in understanding, "…Today has been nice," he added, "I'm glad that the others have taken so well to you."

Nitori grinned, "I'm glad too," he said quickly. "Do you think they _actually _like me?" he asked cautiously; he couldn't get the thought out of his head that they were pretending to like him in order to make Rin happy.

"How should I know?" Rin replied shortly, before thinking for a second and going back on himself, "…Makoto said he thinks you are interesting, and Nagisa obviously likes you; he paying for you tomorrow."

Rin stopped as he got to the door to their dorm, opening it to let the shorter boy through first, "They have been talking about this film for weeks and they were willing to change their plans because they didn't want to see it without you. If that doesn't prove they like you then I don't know what does. Stop doubting your self for gods sake Nitori…" he shook his head as he began to change for bed, not acknowledging Nitori or saying anything else after that.

Nitori hung his head, "Sorry Senpai," he said quietly as he changed for bed and climbed into his bunk.

He let a wide smile cover his face as Rin turned off the light, the room dimly lit now by the glow of their phones. "Goodnight Senpai," he said quietly as he pulled the covers tighter over himself.

"'Night Nitori," Rin slurred sleepily, the bunk-bed rocking slightly as he clambered into the lower bunk and made himself comfortable.

Nitori pulled his head under the covers, as if trying to hide the grin that covered his face as he replayed the day in his head, how perfect it had been, how much he had laughed, he couldn't remember a day he'd laughed more than today.

And how he'd been complimented on his breathing technique at the pool, and how Nagisa had cheered for him when he realised he'd beaten his best time.

He couldn't believe how good the day had been, he'd never been this happy, he'd never felt this accepted.

He felt so warm and happy, his smile quivered slightly as he felt tears well in his eyes. He couldn't stop himself, he'd never felt like this. He wiped his eyes and snivelled slightly as he smiled unevenly, tears falling from him.

He felt himself quiver slightly, he tried to stop himself from laughing and sobbing but small squeaks escaped him regardless.

He jolted as something prodded the underside of his bed, he pushed his head out, wiping his eyes as he did.

"Nitori?" Rin's voice came from the lower bunk, "Are you ok?"

"Yeah," Nitori squeaked, trying not to let his emotion show in his voice, "I'm fine S-Senpai. I'm just happy."

**I hope you liked it, please review, and feel free to point out any mistakes I've made.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Part 2/3 x)**

The boys congregated by the concessions stand, nattering amongst themselves about the details of the film they'd just seen and giggling over the funnier jokes.

Nagisa smiled widely, unable to keep the smile from his face, nodding and giggling along with his friends.

They walked from the cinema, down the road in a large clump towards the swimming pool.

Nagisa wrapped an arm around Nitori's shoulders, hugging him, "Did you enjoy the film Nitori?"

Nitori nodded, "Yeah, it was great… Thank you for paying for me."

"I couldn't have you miss it!" Nagisa almost yelled, hugging Nitori tighter and nuzzling him slightly.

Nitori bit his lip slightly, cowering slightly, "Yeah, I know," he said quietly as they turned into the swimming pool, Rin holding the door open for them.

Rin held out a hand to stop Nitori as he walked through the door, "Nitori… Could I talk to you for a moment?"

Nitori gave a small nod, "Yes Senpai," he squeaked, looking at the floor, still unable to stop smiling. Nagisa gave him another small squeeze and jogged off after Rei, Haru and Makoto.

"…What did you want to talk about?" Nitori asked once Nagisa had left, looking down at his feet, still smiling but unsure of Rin's tone.

"Are you ok?" Rin asked, frowning slightly.

Nitori nodded, looking up at him, "Yes, of course I am... Why wouldn't I be?"

Rin shifted slightly, swallowing hard before he spoke again, "I was just wondering, because of last night." He began walking towards the changing rooms, not waiting for Nitori to follow him but glancing back towards him as he turned the corner.

Nitori smiled as their eyes met, and Rin walked away, not breaking his pace. Nitori let out a tiny hiccupped giggle before following him, his smile breaking his face.

He looked around as he entered the changing room, seeing only Rin in there, "…Where are the others?"

"You know how fast they change," Rin said shortly, pulling off his clothes and changing quickly, eager to re-join his friends.

Nitori nodded, watching Rin leave the room again. He began to change, slower than the others, listening to them as their noise grew louder.

When he entered the room they were already in the water, playfully racing and splashing each other.

"Nitori," Makoto called, waving him into the water, "The heating was on already so the water's warm."

Nitori nodded and jumped in, not making any effort to be graceful with his entry. He swam a length and back, stopping at the group, wondering why their eyes were all on him, he smiled and looked between them, panting slightly.

"Nitori…" Makoto started, smiling softly as the other boys dispersed, "Rin talked to us. He said that last night you were upset."

Nitori looked taken aback, lowering himself slightly in the water, "No, I wasn't upset…" he felt his heart rise into his throat, he didn't want this kind of attention, he didn't want them to take this the wrong way.

Makoto frowned slightly, "Nitori, if anything's wrong you can tell us. If you're having any problems we can try to help."

Nitori shook his head, "I don't need any help, I'm fine."

"…Is it something to do with why you couldn't pay for yourself at the cinema? We can stop doing things that are so expensive."

Nitori bit his lip again, once more astounded by their willingness to give up on things in order to make him feel included. "No… I bought new clothes so I've used my allowance for this week, that's why I couldn't pay. I'm not in any trouble I promise."

Makoto exhaled slightly, thankful that Nitori wasn't having any serious problems. "…Then why did Rin hear you crying, Nitori?"

Nitori's breath hitched slightly as he tried to think of an answer, trying no to feel angry at Rin for telling everyone, but feeling the emotion creep up on him regardless and a small frown creep onto his face. "He shouldn't have told you that," he said quietly, "I wasn't crying because I was upset," he explained tentatively, "I just, I didn't mean to cry."

Makoto frowned and nodded slightly, "…Ok. Well, if you want to talk about anything you can talk to us. …You'll have to talk to Rin about it, you know he won't bring it up."

Nitori nodded, glancing over to look at Rin, watching him swim, "Ok." He turned back to continue talking to Makoto, but realised that Haru had come to drag him away.

He sighed slightly and moved away. He didn't want the group to think he was upset, why had Rin told everyone? He hadn't needed to tell anyone, why couldn't he have just talked to him?

Nitori lifted himself up to sit on the side of the pool, frowning as he watched Rin swim.

"Are you ok?" Nagisa ask, appearing from seemingly nowhere.

"I'm fine," Nitori replied, trying not to snap at the other boy; he'd done nothing wrong after all.

Nagisa glanced at Rin, smiling softly, "You're mad at Rin-chan?" he asked softly, "You should talk to him, he's worried about you."

"He's got nothing to be worried about," Nitori said with a shake of his head.

Nagisa nodded, "I know... You know he was worried we wouldn't like you. He cares about you even though he doesn't say it."

Nitori smiled, moving his legs absentmindedly through the water. He swallowed hard and cleared his throat, feeling himself blush slightly. "…I should talk to him shouldn't I."

Nagisa nodded, "I would." He smiled, giving Nitori a slight pat on the shoulder, "I know you like him back. He's too stubborn to talk to you about anything like that…"

Nitori bit his lip, unsure of what to say in reply, he gave a small nod and waited for Nagisa to leave, smiling to himself and letting out a small sigh, he lay back on the tiles, folding his arms behind his head and staring up at the ceiling, and he began to plan out the situation in his head.

He wasn't sure how to approach Rin about this sort of thing, he'd tried to refrain from talking to him about his 'feelings' in the past, the idea of it made him light headed.

He sighed and smiled softly, letting out a tiny chuckle as he realised again how lucky he was to know these people.

**I hope you liked it, please leave a review.**


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